Reviews by kkipple:

Finally got 'round to cracking into the growlers I rescued from the clutches of the Green's Growler Station down here in Columbia, SC. Dumped into a La Fin Du Monde glass because it was clean.

A. Extremely dark brown with red highlights, might as well be black from anything more than a foot away. Medium tan head and foam that lasts a while. No real lace.

S. Upfront, a big dose of 'Merkin hops (mmm... merkin...), very grapefruit pith and citrus, with some pine resin and general green sharpness and thuggish. Futher nosings reveal some not insignificant rich sweet-malt and high levels of roast burn-y-ness, along with some dark fruit. Unlike some, I get hops first and malt second. The roastedness only comes peeking out after this warms a good bit.

T. Hmm... big hops! Loads of Cascade spice up what would otherwise be a pretty burnt affair. There is real solid alcohol heat here, and the finish is hops (bitter) and char (bitter) that cuddle up and refuse to leave your house. Interesting, big and bold and loud. Subtle this ain't. There IS complexity here, some fruit and malt sweetness and chocolate, as well as variations on hop flavor, but it's tough to pick out sometimes. Not SN's finest, and not terribly approachable, but if you like raucous and loud and bitter beers, Jack and Ken's is one.

M / D. Full carbonation (after a month in the growler, hm!), medium mouthfeel, but the high bitterness and hint of astringency make this harder to drink than it could / should be... I would personally split a 750ml 3 or 4 ways.

Bottom Line: Jack & Ken's is a tasty, bitter brew, but ultimately the weakest of the four. I suspect it would age nicely though...

More User Reviews:

Poured nearly pitch black except for some deep reddish highlights when held straight to the light,a creamy-like one and a half finger tannish colored head atop that settled into a frothy mass.A good mix of bitter chocolate and piney hop in the nose,there is some dark fruit and roast as well.A big hopped up dark barleywine here,bitter chocolate and French roast coffee flavors really hit hard upfront,there is some dark fruit as well as some sweet alcohol to give the beer sweetness,a heavy dose of resiny/piney hop cuts thru any sweetness in the finish.A great beer here,it has so much going on,I liked it alot.

The beer pours into a large snifter with a big, fluffy khaki head atop a muddy-brown, blackish body, with a little of a ruby tint. The carbonation bubbles are fast-flowing and the lacing is globby and sticky.

The smell yields pure milk chocolate at first. Some caramel, brown sugar, and molasses creep in next. When agitated, a sharp roastiness emerges.

The taste reveals roasty cocoa, with a bit of caramel and brown sugar. There is just a faint hint of piney hops in the vein of the typical Sierra Nevada hop profile. There is a bit of mustiness as well and the finish is bittersweet and slightly chalky.

The mouthfeel is very full and creamy with a definite roasty and hoppy twinge. It is medium-full bodied.

Overall, this is a solid aged black barleywine. It is chocolate-y, roasty, and quite yummy. Good stuff.

A: A beautiful beer to look at that is very dark brown and deep garnet with good clarity, without a flash light it looks black. The persistent, light brown head is made of compact mousse-like bubbles

S: The alcohol seems to have mellowed and unsurprisingly the hops have died down over the year. A moderately-light citrus hops aroma that quickly fade giving way to bittersweet chocolate and a rich malt aroma backed by a light, floral alcohol aroma and light dark cherry aroma.

T: The initial impression is flavors of bakers chocolate flavor with a firm hops bitterness and a sweet alcohol. There is light dark stone fruit flavor, mainly dark cherries. The balance is fairly bitter, having only a light malt sweetness against a moderately-strong hops bitterness. The finish is medium and the aftertaste is of hops bitterness and chocolate.

M: A medium-full bodied beer with moderate carbonation and a light alcohol warmth.

O: I loved this bee when it was you and fresh for the rich malt, firm hops bitterness and strong hops flavor. A year or so later and this it's still a great beer, a little mellowed and with the aroma and flavor hops substantially muted. I've got another bottle I check on in a year or two and if I find a magic lamp I wish that this beer be brewed on annually.

Big pop when the cork comes out...this one pours into my glass a deep black with an easy two fingers of creamy tan foam that sticks around and leaves some nice lacing. Aromas start with a good mix of roast and caramel sweetness bathed in a forward citrus/pine hop mix. Toffee and dark fruits with a little coffee undertone. Quite nice and I like the hop forward aspect of it!

First sip brings a nice malty mix of roast and sweet caramel upfront quickly followed by vibrant citric and pine hop flavors that roll across the tongue. Toffee and dark fruits mix in with a touch of cocoa and coffee. Flows down with solid hop bitterness on the finish. Yum!

Mouthfeel is smooth and creamy with spot on carbonation. Not overly heavy by any means. Quite drinkable for a barleywine of this size. Another tasty brew in the 30th Anniversary series, I wouldn't mind seeing more black barleywines! Cheers to Sierra Nevada, easily one of my favorite breweries of all time.

In a snifter this beer was a nearly black color with a thick light brown head.Roasted grain aroma, dark fruit. Alcohol noticeable.Espresso taste, still some dark fruit, late hops. The alcohol was still pretty apparent.I thought this beer was a little on the hot side. Nice beer, but I liked the other 30th anniversary beers better.

Poured into a pint glass.Thick rich abundant head in spite of a careful pour that retained extremely well.Full aroma. Taste even more so. Rich chocolate malt presence alcohol well hidden.Aftertaste the hops take over leaving a mild sense of dryness.Very drinkable and would definitely have another except for the high alcohol content.

750ml bottle. Pours a dark brown black with a huge creamy light tan head that retains well and laces the glass.

The aroma is roasted chocolate malts, some piney hops and some grapefruit.

The flavor is lots of burnt roasted malts with a lot of residual sweetness and some fruits and a huge roasted piney bitter bang in the finish. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and kind of watery with low carbonation.

Overall, an interesting beer. Not quite well balanced - there's a lot of sweetness fighting with a lot of hops now. Reminds me a bit of some Black IPAs (esp the bigger hoppier ones).

Still drinking beautifully. Everything is in place and the balance is excellent. As smooth as silk and tons of flavor. I enjoyed the hell of of this one while watching PSU take it to Michigan tonight. One more in the cellar, likely will be gone at the next decent snowfall!

Corked and caged bottle. Cork easily twists off, releasing a lot of gunsmoke from the big bottle. Clear mahogany body is topped by a large beige head that insists on staying for the party. Creamy lace patches the glass.

Mouthfeel is creamy and about full bodied. Carbonation is ample but moderate.

Taste is dominated by malty bitter chocolate and dark roast notes of coffee. Hops are more than up to the task and serve up an in your face bitterness of pine and grapefruit. Alcohol is hidden very well but you know it's there. Finsishes with a flourish of grapefruit bitterness.

Not at all complex, just a bold and powerful tour de force of west coast hops. Like a Black IPA on steroids.

A treat to enjoy a few 12 ounce pours into a Belgian style tulip glass at the Birdsall House in Peekskill, NY.

Pours near black, under a frothed up darker mocha head. Leaves thick sheeting and windowpane lacing all over the glass.

Dark malts, vanilla, mocha, molasses, and light smoke in the nose.

Full flavor, intrepid and quite tasty offering from one of the godfathers of American craft brewing. Waves of dark malts, licorice, more molasses, smoke, rum, raisins, and all things barley wine come to mind. Solid hop jolt weaves its way to join the fun. Quality craftsmanship on display. Go get some, enjoy, then put some away to enjoy in a few more years.

Coffee and chocolate dominate up front. Very reminiscent of a stout. There was a nice bready flavor that complemented a sweet maltiness, as well. Tiny bit of pine. For whatever reason, I expected it to be a bit sweeter.

Very rich and velvety in the mouth. Huge beer mouthfeel-wise - maybe too big. It almost felt grainy.

Overall a very drinkable beer with many redeeming qualities, but I just couldn't help but feel that something was lacking somehow. It felt like SN had made a barleywine that wanted to be a stout and somewhere along the way managed to lose the best characteristics of both. It almost seemed like an "average" of the two styles.

Taste: Smooth roasted barley with an emphasis on coffee and chocolate. Toffee notes underneath supply the expected Barleywine touch. Nice counterbalance of citrus and pine that carries through the finish, but the bitterness remains restrained.

Feel: Ultra smooth and thick with a dry warming finish. This really is about as smooth as a beer gets.

Drinkability: This is a smooth and fantastic beer, and I was unable to stop drinking the 750ml bottle despite my initial plan of drinking it over two days.

Besides the touch of toffee, I am not really sure this is a Barleywine, as it resides in that limbo land of Imperial Stout, Barleywine and Double Black IPA. Other beers with a similar profile would say Imperial Stout, while others go the Black IPA route. Whatever the style is, I like it, but hope that not too many more brewers attempt it, as this should stay a limited, niche "style".

Pours a very dark black color that makes me think stout but with a much lighter body. It has a nice small light brown head with a very aromatic nose - pine and dark malts and a bit of roastiness finish it off.

Taste is quite bitter and sharp, fairly high carbonation with a light body. Resionous pine and dark roast coffee beans dominate with a bitter finish.

Poured into my SN30 glass, this beer pours a deep black with a generous tan head. A black Barley wine....hmmm.

S: The aroma is definitely Barley Wine. Hoppy sweetness. There is a slight fruity and floral hop profile, with a sturdy roasted background.

T: The flavor is excellent. Hoppy bitterness is tamed by a roasted background. Despite it's appearance, there is nothing "stout" about this brew. The roasted malt leaves a good flavor of earthy nuttyness.

Mf/D: The mouthfeel is creamy and full. Carbonation is excellent. Drinkability can improve over time as this brew ages and oxidizes a bit.

Overall, what a twist on a style this brew is. SN is doing something great with these XXX anniversary beers. This one was another pleasure to have.

At the taphouse. Black BW pours, well, black, although with plenty of brown to it. A rusty black lets say. Great mix of burnt malt and hops in the aroma. Think black ipa here.

Taste, its big, but hoppy and sweet. Slight amount of coffee comes across with the aforementioned roasted malts. It is crisp, doesn't weigh heavy despite the abv. The dryness to this is amazing. I dunno how to classify this, something like 1 part Bigfoot, 1 part Hop in the Dark and something else with the slightest twinge of coffee. You don't get quite the hop crush of fresh Bigfoot, this stuff tastes like they aged it a bit before release, unlike the standard Bigfoot. I plan on laying a bottle down, just to see what happens. Its damn good right now.